SUPPORT

Amity Brew Co was set up by friends in the middle of the pandemic. The team started producing beer in June 2020 and in December 2020 they opened a brewhouse in Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley. Russ Clarke, one of the founders, had worked for Brewdog and then a smaller brewer, before leaving in 2019 to set up a business with friend Richard Degnan. The initial plan was to set up in retail, selling beer via a shop. But the plans morphed as more people came on board and as Russ found the perfect venue for a taproom and as he took advice from an AD:VENTURE business adviser. The brewhouse is open from Thursday to Sunday, selling beer produced on site, which is also sold via wholesalers and online. The business now employs eight, with plans to take on more. When Russ approached AD:VENTURE he wasn’t too sure which direction he was going in. He and Richard were considering the retail option, selling other people’s beers. “In the early days I just had a concept, there was nothing tangible. I knew I wanted to do something with beer and that’s where the idea of a shop selling classic beers came in. But once I found the premises, that started to make me think it was possible to actually produce our own beer, rather than just selling other people’s,” says Russ, who then started looking for support for the fledgling business. “Even at the start I was given help by AD:VENTURE. There were various workshops I could go on and I was given a business adviser, who helped with all sorts of issues.” Amity initially applied successfully for a £75,000 start-up loan from AD:VENTURE partners, The Business Enterprise Fund. After seeing growth early on despite the pandemic, they applied for a £40,000 grant for investment into the business. Working with an AD:VENTURE business advisor, Amity Brew Co used some of the £40,000 to match-fund their AD:VENTURE grant application, securing an additional £15,000. The AD:VENTURE grant allowed Amity to invest in new canning equipment and helped bring packaging in-house. The aim is to offer a canning service to other small breweries and take on more staff. “The loan was helpful of course but the grants really helped and it has propelled us forward about three years. That enabled us to create jobs. That means everything. The brewer was literally working on his own and now we have got him an assistant. We have also created a new role as a Social Media and Marketing Assistant.” Amity also launched a Crowdfunder campaign to raise £15,000 to increase production at the Sunny Bank Mills site and to improve the outside terrace. The campaign smashed the target, reaching over £40,000. The successful growth means Amity Brew can now look positively to the future with plans to possibly open other taprooms or take on a bigger production facility. “It’s just a no-brainer to use AD:VENTURE. To speak to a real person about your real issues and to be pointed in the right direction was exactly what we needed,” says Russ. “To try and do it all yourself means you are probably setting yourself up for a fall and I think the reason we have been so successful is we have leant on the expertise of others to help steer where we are going. “Having a sounding board is really important and someone who is on your side is vital. We are not just a faceless business to AD:VENTURE, we have got their backing and we know if we face hard times in the future we have got their help.” Verity Clarke, Communications Director at Amity, said: "Our start-up journey has not been an easy one, so we have relished receiving external support from AD:VENTURE. We're still a very small team and we value the courses, training, networking and general cheerleading from the AD:VENTURE team. It means so much to us that we're being recognised and supported."